Public Safety
Mugging Adams Morgan
Top Stories
La Joya Steakhouse Restaurant Coming to former El Limeno Space in Petworth Memorial Day Weekend Road Closures for Rolling Thunder, National Memorial Day Parade and United House of Prayer Memorial Parade Former Sutra/Viet Thai Spaces to Become NYNY DIVA or NY Diva NY in Adams MorganNeighborhoods
Adams MorganCapitol HillColumbia HeightsH St. NELogan Circle16th St. heightsAU ParkAlexandriaAnacostiaBarnaby WoodsBethesdaBloomingdaleBrentwoodBrightwoodBrooklandCarver/LangstonCathedral HeightsChevy ChaseCleveland ParkCrestwoodDowntownDupont CircleEckingtonEdgewoodFoggy BottomForest HillsFriendship HeightsFt. LincolnFt. TottenGeorgetownGlover ParkHill EastHillcrestIvy CityKaloramaKingman ParkLamond-RiggsLangdonLanier HeightsLedroit ParkMDMt. PleasantMt. Vernon SquareNavy YardNoMaPalisadesPark ViewPenn Quarter/ChinatownPetworthPleasant PlainsRosedaleSW WaterfrontShawShepherd ParkSilver SpringSpring ValleyTakomaTakoma ParkTenleytownTrinidadTruxton CircleU StreetVAVan NessWesley HeightsWest EndWoodland-NormanstoneWoodley ParkWoodridge
See MoreRecent Forum Posts
Recent Classifieds
Friday Question of the Day – What’s Your Favorite No Frills Bar?
Dan’s Cafe located at 2315 18th Street, NW. Aug. 2012
Well it’s the Friday before the long Labor Day weekend and there aren’t too many of us left at work today. So given all the new bars/restaurants we talk about I thought it would be fun to give props to some of our favorite old school bars. I also saw the Dan’s Cafe sign in Adams Morgan has completely disappeared and I wondered if anyone still goes there?
For this week’s Friday Question of the Day – What’s your favorite no frills bar?
Dan’s Cafe circa 2009:
Category: Bars, Friday Question of the Day
Blog Categories
Most Commented This Week
79
COMMENTS
Dear PoPville - Parking Suggestions for non DC Residents?
22 May 2013 11:02 AM
69
COMMENTS
Dear PoPville - Valet Problems Part Two
20 May 2013 10:16 AM
61
COMMENTS
MPD Reports Cyclist Killed at 11th and U St, NW on Thursday
19 May 2013 4:27 PM
60
COMMENTS
Adams Morgan BID Launches New Outdoor Dining Campaign "Al Fresco. Al Frisky."
23 May 2013 4:53 PM
59
COMMENTS
Friday Question of the Day - What is Your Favorite Meal to Grill?
22 May 2013 6:26 PM
Upcoming Events
Recent Comments
i'm guessing they put in some good sound buffering windows? fl ave is LOUD. 
11:06pm
^yes. The only danger at this location is being run over by a motorist from Maryland.
11:05pm
Faison's writeups make me crazy. And not in a good "I'm crazy for buying this house!" way.
The Dancing Crab's commercials have to be the worst I've ever seen. The owners saying,...
God you people are boring. Why not more chatter about their footwears?
Duffy’s! Fried food, cold beer and Nats games on TV. Can’t ask for more!
I second Duffy’s and raise you Solly’s!
Yes, yes, yes people still go to Dan’s Cafe! I actually just walked by an hour ago and the sign said that it was open…not that you would know from the outside! It’s a pretty interesting place….
But I personally like Pharmacy Bar or Angles when I’m not in the mood to be crowded into tiny bar spaces by GW or Georgetown undergrads looking for a big night out in Adams Morgan…which is all the time. Can you tell I live in Adams Morgan and that I don’t have a lot of tolerance for Friday or Saturday nights out?
Pharmacy Bar makes me think of Ted Leo. If a no-frills bar became a people and had a guitar, it’d be Ted Leo.
Agreed. I frequented Pharmacy Bar in 2003/2004, right after Hearts of Oak was released. Good memories!
Quarry House in downtown Silver Spring.
Love this place.
Awesome but as the only great bar I know of near AFI, it seems super crowded most of the time. Any other Silver Spring bars to know about?
Sidebar is AMAZING, but isn’t overly close to the AFI. Personally, I just grab a drink at the bar in Ray’s or maybe chill outside at McGinty’s, if the weather is nice, when I’m in that northern part of DTSilver Spring.
1920DC is my new one
We must have a different idea of what no frills means
Don’t scare us PoP! God help us all if Dan’s Cafe goes! There is no place quite like it in DC.
Even though I’ve rarely been there (I’ve been there a whopping two times), I do have to say it’s a great no frills bar.
In the backyard, behind the trash can. That’s where I keep the bottle hidden from the old lady. Once she goes to bed, the party is on!
Yea, I gotta go with 1920dc. Love the dj’s and the burgers are beyond awesome. The Common Share in Adams Morgan used to be my goto bar!
The Pug
+ 1
+2
The Queen Vic – great food, nice staff and good beer selection!
Town Hall in College Park, Hank Dietle’s in Rockville.
Dietles. Ditto.
Love town hall. Name another place that has microwavable pizza bagels on the menu? Pizza in the morning, pizza in the evening….
RIP Common Share…that was a classic no frills bar. I still remember how excited I was when I found out you could get a Guinness for 2 bucks there.
For a bar that is still around I like the Red and the Black, can’t beat cheap Abita.
I gotta pour out a little of my tasty beverage tonight for Common Share, man I miss that place…oh well, guess I gotta hit up two of my favorite spots in the District, 1920DC and Solly’s
Red Derby all the way!!
+1
Trying too hard, IMO.
+1
Winner.
Has anyone been to “Izzy’s” right above the Shaw metro, next to Dragon Express? I’ve been living in Shaw for two years, and just noticed it. Haven’t been in, but love the handwritten sign outside that says “Beer $3, Liquor $4″
Are you sure that’s the name? Just googled it and looked on Yelp, nothing came up.
Very sure, the lack of google info is why I proposed it. Darnell’s bar is another no-frills candidate in the area that gets good reviews.
I’m not sure I’d nominate Darnell’s. The atmosphere is decidedly no frills, but my simple mixed drink was $17! That seems pretty frilly to me.
Darrel’s is definitely not no-frills.
Good site:
http://www.classicdcbars.com
Awesome site. I’m a big fan of the Tune Inn. Classic!!!!!!
Yes Dan’s Cafe for me…that’s where I met my husband 13.5 years ago…so love that place!
Good ole reliable Trusty’s. Or Selam on U St.
Selam!
The Fourth Estate at the National Press Club.
Huh?
the long gone Mr. Ps
Post Pub, The Pug, Stetson’s (although I haven’t been there in a couple of years so I’m not sure what it’s like now), The Passenger.
Love The Passenger, but not sure it qualifies as No Frills, nice decor, high concept, and high-end bar food … my favorite “Some Frills” bar though, for sure …
I guess no frills for me means that I can go there wearing jeans and a t-shirt and not feel out of place. And since I went to The Passenger in my workout gear the other week and didn’t get a funny look from anyone else in the bar, I threw it in there!
Bedrock Billiards
Bedrock is awesome!! Love the staff there.
+1. Comfy as a party in your high school best friend’s basement.
There are not many left, but I vote (1) Quarry House, (2) The Pug, (3) The Raven
STETSON’S!
I love this place! Great service, cheap drinks, no douchebags allowed.
oh, they’re allowed
This posting made me realize that Stetson’s has to have hit the 30 yr mark, as I was regular when it first opened about 1981 with a bartender named Chili.
Trusty’s!
The Raven.
+1
darrell’s – no sign, and near Florida and 9th.
Zoo Bar
Nanny O’Briens
I miss Cue Bar on U St. I guess U St Music Hall is an upgrade, but without the $3 Red Stripes. And also less sitting.
If “no frills” means a torn-carpet, dirty jukebox, sticky tables kind of place where I can go straight from the office or crawl to from another bar’s last call and always find an empty table or seat at the bar, Townhouse Tavern in Dupont is easily the best. The bartender doesn’t know the difference between a manhattan and a gimlet, but can open a bottle or mix up a [liquor] and [bubbles] just fine. I they haven’t changed the paint or the prices in decades. Love it.
Solly’s is ok, but was better before they tried to be a restaurant. The Raven, Passenger, the like are fine, but haul in the kind of shouting judgmental hipster crowd that gives me the stink eye for not looking poor enough. I don’t have enough money to look that cheap, so I have to go to Townhouse Tavern, which is fine with me.
More things Townhouse has going for it: disgusting bathrooms, sleazy drug-addled patrons, secret late-night hours that extend into dawn, harsh fluorescent lighting, hidden upstairs rooms, decrepit pool table and ancient video games, and a surprisingly nice patio that’s great for people-watching and for getting badly-needed fresh air. It’s a gem!
and an easy place to get drugs for those late nights!
When did Solly’s try to be a restaurant? I was in there last week and they handed me a stack of menus for local delivery restaurants because I hungry. Ended up grabbing a slice next door and bringing it back to Sollys to enjoy with my pint, which was totally cool with the bouncers and bartenders.
Some bars do that (Larry’s used to bring over food from the Malaysian restaurant next door), presumably so you can stay at their establishment and spend more money.
Um, Larry OWNED the Malaysian place.
Did they give up on that? If so, good for them.
http://www.princeofpetworth.com/2012/01/huge-u-street-news-sollys-expanding-into-madjet-ethiopian-restaurant-next-door/
hasn’t open yet, thus they haven’t tried to be a restaurant yet
They also had a limited menu (tater tots, sliders, etc) when they first opened. There’s a small kitchen next to the upstairs bar.
OMG Ronald – you are a genious!
I wonder why the Prince loves a place called “Dan’s”
Duffys
Chuck and Billy’s — across from Howard U.
This place is awesome.
Fox and Hounds – period.
+12
No brainer!
+13
most potent g&t’s in dc
The Codmother. The Raven. Stetsons. Red Derby. In that order.
Yes CODMOTHER!!!!
Raven
Larry’s Lounge. Townhouse Tavern.
Love Larry’s, hate Townhouse.
Disliked Larry’s starting last year when he FIRED the ENTIRE staff because he thought they were pouring drinks too strong or giving too many away. A few friends who had worked their for a while and really depended on those jobs got screwed over. All around it was a mess.
Can we have a moment of silence for the basement bar of Childe Harold? God I loved that place.
Oh I’ll join you in that moment of silence. The place was legendary.
Ditto. Being quiet now. Also, anyone remember Cafe Larouche (sp?) in Adams Morgan? Loved that place.
…sniff.
huge cultural loss to the city.
Some good ones here (Larry’s, Townhouse, Raven, The Pug) and some I hadn’t heard of I’d like to try.
Still miss the Playbill.
DC Reynolds and Blue Bananna – Love Friday Happy Hours in this area, easy to find a seat and nothing beats talking with locals in a bar close to home.
YES! I’ve been loving DC Reynolds since they opened!
Blue Banana is a bizarre establishment, if you ask me. Either packed or full, really inconsistent, was supposed to be a sports bar but doesn’t really do that well either.
+1 for DC reynolds for sure. Great food, service, outdoor seating, and staff.
Irish Times. I think I’m gonna go across the street for a Guinness there when my day ends (in about an hour!)
How has nobody yet mentioned the Billy Goat Tavern?!
Stoney’s in logan circle, and the Pharm bar, if by some terrible chance I find myself in Adams Morgan on a weekend night.
Black Rooster Pub.
Love the Bottom Line down on I St. The Blaguard also has a special place in my heart, but the upstairs renovation did bring add some frills.
Can’t believe no one has mentioned Stan’s.
sssssh, keep it a secret! let them list all the new spots. let’s save the classics for ourselves
http://www.princeofpetworth.com/2009/05/judging-restaurants-stans/
everyone has completely skipped Capitol Hill: The Lil Pub, Mr Henry’s, Tune Inn, the bar in Cafe Berlin…
Lil Pub creeps the bejeebies out of me, but I do LOVE Tune Inn.
I like Tunicliff’s a lot; it’s no-frills without being a dive. The interior is clean and attractive, the staff is on the ball, and the food and drinks are good. I especially like the enclosed patio where there’s always someone with a dog to pet.
What’s with the Lil Pub anyway? They have a gay flag over the door, yet when I started making out with a dude while sitting at the bar, the trailer trash bartender chick burst out with “Yew cain’t dew thay-ut in hyere”
Love the Lil Pub. Pool, Darts, cheap drinks, and friendly regular drunks.
Well, just don’t try having sex in there.
I actually really like the rooftop of the Reef (Sunday to Wednesday only). Low frills, affordable drinks, a really nice view, nice bartenders. Good place to watch a game outside and hang with a friend or two, especially in the late afternoon or early evening.
The Raven. hands down the best no frills bar!
The Zoo Bar, no frills, outdoor patio, & live blues for free!
Bonus points if you know its real, original name.
“Tavern”
Oxford Tavern. It’s a good place for live Blues.
depends… DC Old School: Pier 7 or Stan’s. My new fave: Boundary Stone. Sho you right!
Boundary Stone = meh. Just another “rustic-urban-industrial” bar that you’d find in U Street or Dupont, except in a dodgier location. It is what it is, but it’s definitely not “no frills.”
Solly’s
Cannot believe they are not getting more love here. That’s fine by me – stay away. Far far away.
Solly’s is awesome, but then the weekend hits…
Millie and Al’s, Bedrock Billiards, Marx Cafe, Bar Below, The Raven, Looking Glass, Red Derby, The Argonaut…
RIP Playbill. We’ve tried and tried to find your like. No dice.
the raven
S&J in Riverdale. They have a happy hour that stars at 6 or 7 AM.
boundary stone!
Don’t forget about Millie and Al’s. Jello shooters, Oh yea!!!
Marx Cafe!
THE BLAGUARD
The Froggy bog is great too!!